By Ruza Zivkusic
Sunshine’s Matthew Vali forgot to switch off a bar heater in his bedroom before going to bed.
He said he would never leave it on again, after the heater caught fire and destroyed his family’s single-storey home in Devonshire Rd, Sunshine, last week.
It was a careless act that should not have happened, his father, Walimu, said.
“We don’t use the heater every night, but it was too cold and that’s why he put the heater on and left it,” Mr Vali said.
The courageous boy was woken up by the heat last Tuesday morning and tried to put the fire out with his blanket, making the blazes spread even more.
He then ran out of his room and called on his older sister, who tried putting out the fire by pouring water over it.
Next-door neighbours noticed the blazes and called the fire brigade, who controlled the fire in less than 20 minutes.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade acting Commander Ed Kurpiel said the family was lucky to have escaped injuries.
The estimated damage to the rented house was put at more than $60,000, Mr Kurpiel said.
But the family looks on the bright side, as a house next door was available for rent, Mr Vali said.
“We’re very lucky to be alive,” he said.
